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Order of the Paupers
The order of the Paupers were a fringe group of Paladins and Priests who left the Grand Temple in the Second Age. They held no allegiances except to the light and were ultimately inconsequential, their own policies leading to their end. They had no proper chain of command or power structure and instead were a loose collection of people who tried to be virtuous and righteous in their own way, while still upholding the virtues of the order. History Towards the end of the Second Age certain paladins and priests of the Grand Temple became disenfranchised with how the order operated. Believing that the Temples acquiescence to the growth of commerce and avarice in the region was against what the holy light stood for. These agitators thought that the temple was both too critical of those who wanted to learn the ways of the light, and too generous in what they gave their current paladins. By allowing more common people to join the ranks and by reducing the glamour of the equipment current paladins had, more people could be brought to the light. While the amount of people who actually left the order were small in number they grew to a moderate size by enlisting those who, while not necessarily skilled or attuned to the light, were interested in practicing the virtues that the new order created: *Rejection of Avarice *No one man above another *Most good for most men The order had no particular goal in mind, and set up a small self-sustaining community near eastern coast of Arnelia. The community was open to everyone and the order delighted in particular in attempting to teach their virtues to passers by and seeking new people attuned to the light. They proliferated their number of "Paladins" by first reducing the requirements to be one and creating a more basic set of equipment. Culture Paladins didn't need to show that they could attune the light or manifest its powers, merely that they were somewhat attuned to it. Many Paladins of the Order of Paupers managed to either convince the order to admit them despite not being able to attune at all, or managed to trick whoever was administering the exam by calling on other magic or trickery. As a result, a lot of the "Paladins" were nothing more than common sellswords or fighters. Practices and Beliefs Eventually the order began admitting people who were honest about their true abilities but displayed some other show of virtue or honor, in an attempt to curtail those who lied to them. It was accepted that the tricksters were not fit to be Paladins even in name, but other strong fighters could be honorary Paladins as long as they practiced the virtues the order preached. The Order of Pauper Paladins were also less equipped than their Grand Temple counterparts. Iron and Steel rather than used wastefully on swords and over-engineered armour, was manufactuered into spears and breastplates. Many of the Paladins opted to use grand hammers that were fashioned out of simple stone and instead relied on inexpensive magic to increase the stability of their makeshift weapons. The Order, in its time active brought a lot of travelers to the light indirectly by sparking an interest that later led people to the Grand Temple. They also acted as a voluntary tribunal for those in the area who wished it. Althought this function was later ended with concerns that it was against their "no one man above another" principle. End of the Order The Order had fundamental flaws that they could not reconcile. The "rejection of avarice" meant that the Order did not engage in trade or commerce, and with no income, the order faced problems when they could no longer be self-sustaining. The "no one man above another" principle also led to problems. The lack-luster vetting of potential brothers and sisters of the Order, along with motivation to actively deceive them created a lapse of the rule of law. The Paladins refused to sit in judgment of people accused of crimes against them or punish people with anything other than asking them to leave and "blacklisting". Because they would simply send away people who wronged them and refused to make them sit trial, word spread that they were easy pickings for rogues and other con-men. Eventually the order simply became smaller and smaller until the last of the remaining Paladins went their own way. Many of the members who were attuned to the light went to the Grand Temple, the honorary "Paladins" started their own groups who attempted to bring justice to the more remote areas of the world. Because there was no power structure of the Order, there was nobody who had a vested interest in seeing it reborn. Legacy As the order were paupers, they left little in the way of artefacts or history. The Paladins carried what they could when they left and had nothing else of value. The history still reflects them as they wrote numerous books and scripts on their ideology and copied them in the huge amounts of spare time the order had. Literature was their primary creation but they simply gave away their writings. As a result, almost every library in Arnelia has evidence of their existence - but the words in the book are generally inconsequential. There are few who disagree with the concepts, indeed, their writings are almost identical to that of the Grand Temple paladins but with very precise criticisms of certain Grand Temple behavior. Character Options Prestige Class: Honorary Paladin An Honorary Paladin, while being mostly unable to attune to the Holy Light, is granted its benefit in certain situations as long as they maintain a strict code of honor and virtue. Skill List: Bluff, Concentration, Craft, Disguise, Diplomacy, Gather Information, Jump, Heal, Knowledge(History), Knowledge(Nobility and Religion), Knowledge(Religion), Listen, Perform, Profession, Ride, Search, Sense Motive, Spellcraft, Spot, Use Magic Device. Skill Points: 6 + Int Modifier HP Gain: 1d6+4 Mana Gain 1d4+4 Proficiencies: Swords, Hammers, Spears, Cloth, Leather, Mail, Plate, Shield Requirements: Lawful Good Alignment, Skill focus (Knowledge (religion)), Heal 8 Ranks, Craft 8 Ranks, Survival 6 Ranks. Vow of Necessity: The Honorary Paladin must not take more resources than is necessary for him in service of the Holy Light. To fulfill your vow, the Paladin must not own any possessions for which there are more basic or simple alternatives. For example, an Honorary Paladin must not use a jewel encrusted magical sword where there is a regular sword available to him (note, enchantments are fine as long as they are on a simple weapon). This includes weapons or armor that the paladin can make himself. An Honorary Paladin who keeps his vow is entitled to; a +2 bonus to AC, increasing to +3 at third level and +4 at fifth level; a +2 bonus to hit, increasing to +3 at third level and +4 at fifth level. The Honorary Paladin also gains access to the Lay on Hands ability healing for 7 times the Honorary Paladin level once per day. Holy Reinforcement: The Honorary Paladin is able to use magic to reinforce any weapons or armor that he himself makes. The Holy Light is channeled into the material giving it stability. A weapon that would usually break against more complex materials is spared and given a +10 hardness. A makeshift weapon or armor imbued with Holy Reinforcement is given the same stats as a corresponding simple weapon or piece of armor and is able to fulfill the Honorary Paladins Vow of Necessity. Weapons enchanted also gains a +1 to hit per Honorary Paladin level and deals and extra 1d4 Holy damage, Increasing to 1d6 at third level and 1d8 at fifth level. Only the Honorary Paladin is able to use the benefits of a weapon enchanted by Holy Reinforcement. Equitable Strike: An Honorary Paladin can call upon the Holy Light to make a fight more fair. Once per day as an attack action, if the Honorary Paladin has less health than his opponent, he can choose to make his next attack be a guaranteed hit. He remains invulnerable for one round. Judgment of the Light: The Honorary Paladin is unable to judge another, regardless of evidence of his crimes. The Paladin may as a full action may call upon the Holy Light to pass judgment. If the target fails a DC 30 will save and is of Evil Alignment, he suffers a -10 to AC and takes 4d6 Holy Damage. The Honorary Paladin may use Judgment of the Light a number of times which is equal to his CHA mod each day.